exploding f/t mouse!

[J-Crash]

Ok... couple of questions. Squeezer went for a mouse tonight, and when he constricted the guts blew out of it. It was pretty gnarly, but what concerned me was the aspen bedding getting stuck on the innards. I did my best to pick off the shavings as he was eating, but he definitely did not want to let go. Luckily he was trying to eat it backwards so when he spit it out to re-grip I snatched it away... I will try again in a couple of days. 2 questions how terrible would it have been if he swallowed some of the aspen, and how bad is it to swallow backwards?

I know newspaper or paper towels would be better but everybody sees the viv... and I'd like it to look as nice as possible while being safe.

[dr del]

Hi,

Sounds like you either over heated the mouse while thawing or thawed it for too long or it had previously gotten defrosted then re-frozen.

Basically if you start with good quality mice and thaw them right they really shouldn't explode.


dr del

[JLC]

It won't hurt him to ingest a few aspen shavings. Their bodies can easily handle stuff like that. In the wild, they must accidentally ingest all sorts of dirt and leaves and twigs and grasses and junk.

Eating it backwards isn't going to hurt him either...it'll just take longer. Worst case scenario would be that he'd get frustrated and just give up and abandon the meal. Wouldn't hurt him.

I've had an exploding rodent...it's disgusting beyond measure. My snake ate it anyway...but then I had to scrub guts off the water bowl, which seemed to have cemented onto the surface in a matter of minutes!

[loonunit]

Yeah, I see f/t mice do that when they're overheated. Another reason to feed in a cardboard box if you're using a tank that you want to look nice when company comes over, I guess. (Also mouse guts STINK.)

Generally if I think I've over-warmed a mouse, I hold in my hand for about 10 seconds, squeezing it just a little. If it starts to feel uncomfortably warm in my hand, it's probably too warm for my snake to be swallowing, and it'll probably explode. I usually throw those out and start over with new ones.

[J-Crash]

Thanks for the quick replys... I figured it would be ok... I worry a lot...

[Simple Man]

Just a note, it seems to work better if you take your time thawing. I usually use 100 degree water for 15 minutes, then change it with new water, and repeat 3 or 4 times until I can pull the rodent out and temp gun it at 100 degree or so.

Regards,

B

[J-Crash]

I thought I was doing ok... thawed at room temp for 2 hrs... then 10-20 seconds under the heater... maybe that was too long

[shelliebear]

I thaw mine under a heat lamp they never explode. hmm.

[dr del]

Hmmm,

I thought I was doing ok... thawed at room temp for 2 hrs... then 10-20 seconds under the heater... maybe that was too long

That doesn't sound bad at all. I tend to thaw good sized mice for 3-4 hours on a thermostated heat mat without any problems.

Did it stink? What condition was it in before you defrosted it?

I'm wondering if they were partially defrosted then refrozen before you got them.


dr del

[J-Crash]

Hmmm,



That doesn't sound bad at all. I tend to thaw good sized mice for 3-4 hours on a thermostated heat mat without any problems.

Did it stink? What condition was it in before you defrosted it?

I'm wondering if they were partially defrosted then refrozen before you got them.


dr del

It didn't stink... it was the last if 3 that I bought at the local shoot... I had no problems with the other two. It was being constricted when it burst though.